Facebook came out on top with 268,057 mentions across the media, in front of Commonwealth Bank and Qantas, the airline, in second and third respectively.

Some 1,530 of those mentions were in the press, 26,830 were on the internet, 61,994 were on the radio and 71,158 were on the TV.

While news stories about the brand contributed to the high number of mentions on media properties – for example, an outage toward the start of the year and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent pledge to donate billions to charity – Facebook is a growing powerhouse in the TV and radio sphere.

The number of Facebook mentions indicates the influence of the platform as a media influencer in its own right, as a key channel for media brands, and as a vehicle for both delivering news and sourcing it.

TV and radio brands are now expanding their brands into the social realm, encouraging listeners to engage with their branded pages on platforms like Facebook. Social media is also a key promotional channel to grow media brands to millennials, who are more likely to get their news from online sources.

The high number of mentions wasn't necessarily a good thing for two Australian brands, both of which endured PR mishaps.

Woolworths, which received scathing commentary following a misguided Anzac Day campaign, came in at #4. Iconic automotive brand Holden, whose "Bloody Caravaners" TV commercial was Australia's most complained about ad in 2015, was ranked at #5.

Twitter, also an important promotional channels for media brands, was the 7th most mentioned brand.

Three airline brands – Emirates, Qantas and Jetstar – rounded out the top ten.

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